Operation Barbarossa Transport Vehicles and Logistics - WW2 Special

What good is your army if you can't supply it? As the German army prepares to invade the massive lands of the Soviet Union, it faces hefty production, logistical and supply challenges.
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Between 2 Wars: • Between 2 Wars
Source list: bit.ly/WW2sources
Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory ( / eastory )
Colorizations by:
Carlos Ortega Pereira, BlauColorizations, / blaucolorizations
Julius Jääskeläinen - / jjcolorization
Cassowary Colorizations www.flickr.com...
Sources:
IWM Q 7084, Q 9333, Q 7105, Q 5238
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
Bundesarchiv
from the Noun Project: Lorry by Andrew Cameron, Train by Cipto Nur Khoir, Train by priyanka, screws by Danil Polshin, screw by ibrandify, screw by DinosoftLab
18th German Panzer Division mark , courtesy Plbcr commons.wikime...
Picture of the Achtung-Panzer! cover, courtesy courtesy Drrcs15 commons.wikime...
Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound
Phoenix Tail - At the Front
Hakan Eriksson - Epic Adventure Theme 3
Rannar Sillard - March Of The Brave 4
Johannes Bornlof - The Inspector 4
Fabien Tell - Last Point of Safe Return
Johannes Bornlof - Deviation In Time
Reynard Seidel - Deflection
Philip Ayers - Trapped in a Maze
Rannar Sillard - March Of The Brave 10
Archive by Screenocean/Reuters www.screenocea....
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Many think of World War Two as this modern, mechanised, fast-paced, mobile blitzkrieg war. But despite the flashy propaganda-films of soldier-filled trucks and tanks charging through big open fields in Eastern Europe, the German and Soviet War-effort heavily relied on horses. In fact, hundreds of thousands of horses were deployed in the German army on the forefront of Operation Barbarossa. Over 2,5 million horses would 'serve' in the German army in the entity of World War Two. Now, our entire channel relies on the hefty horsepower that our community we like to call the TimeGhost Army provides us with. Join the effort and support us on www.patreon.com/timeghosthistory or timeghost.tv! Cheers, Joram *RULES OF CONDUCT* STAY CIVIL AND POLITE we will delete any comments with personal insults, or attacks. AVOID PARTISAN POLITICS AS FAR AS YOU CAN we reserve the right to cut off vitriolic debates. HATE SPEECH IN ANY DIRECTION will lead to a ban. RACISM, XENOPHOBIA, OR SLAMMING OF MINORITIES will lead to an immediate ban. PARTISAN REVISIONISM, ESPECIALLY HOLOCAUST AND HOLODOMOR DENIAL will lead to an immediate ban.

[@Paris-xv9sj]

Yes actually there is a video of Military History Visualized that explains why the Blitzkrieg, isn't what many people think, very interesting, I recommend it!

[@erikgranqvist3680]

As one who grown up on a farm with horses, cows and lots of other animals: using horses as transport is not straight forward. Not one bit. It takes planning and knowledge about the animals. In summer, they can graze. But grazing will not give a horse all the needed energy for pulling heavy loads day after day. So you need to transport grain for the animals, if you cannot be sure to find good quality grain on route. And even if conditions are ideal, your horse will need to rest between the stretch of work. Not hours, but days. And you will not get the supplies anywhere fast since a horse is basically as fast as a walking human when having serious loads behind them. Sure, you can ignore all this for a couple of days. Maybee even trasch the animals to work for a few weeks. But if you do not take care of the horse, its strength and abillity to work will decrease fast. And if you insist on pushing on, the horse will die. And if your horses start to die, then you have no means of transportation at all. You will be stuck. Also, do not imagine that a horse can pull anything like the weight a truck can handle. To replace 1 truck, you will need lots of horses with acompanioning humans. So no. Horses were not a good sollution.

[@USSChicago-pl2fq]

I am surprised you guys didn’t mention that most of the Panzergrenadier units in France were just motorized units due to a lack of half-tracks.

[@ghostrider.49]

@@RonaldReaganRocks1 While I agree that it was important, I wouldn't say critical for their victory. The main problem I have with the lend-lease argument is that during the hardest time of the USSR's war with Germany(1941-1943) the amount of lend-lease supplies that arrived was only a fraction of the total amount. "Only" 4 million tons worth of equipment and food was delivered in a 2 year period, in contrast in a 2 year period from 1943 to 1945 the allies delivered a total of 13 million tons worth of equipment&food. Moreover, the locomotives many claim the USSR couldn't have supplied its army without, were not supplied to the Red Army until July 1943, 2 whole years into the war.

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@erikgranqvist3680 All good points, but it was still a better option for the Germans at the time than trying to motorize more of their army. The whole reason they invaded in '41 was because the blockade was destroying their economy and if they didn't go then they wouldn't be able to - ever. Capturing the Soviets oil fields and grain supplies was the only hope they had left to win the war.

[@vegirage3224]

Our roads are crowded enough already. Pls, no Barbarossa. Greetings, Slovenia

[@diminios]

Though I imagine they would clear pretty damn quickly, if the rolling stock here were to be crushed by tanks.

[@nirfz]

@@diminios The ones comming from the north would arrive late... The border crossings from Austria to Slovenia have/had traffic jams in the last days that remind me of the 80's... (I remember the radio road info back then and now it often times sounds the same. I hear the names of broder crossings ai had already forgotten the names of) As a sidenote, if they would refill at gas stations on the highways in Austria, they also would be bancrupt before reaching Slovenia ;-) (The fuel price on them is around 40-50% higher than on normal stations)

[@diminios]

@@nirfz Like they'd pay for the gas. I mean, you have a tank. Who's going to dare charge you, if you want to fill up? :D

[@nirfz]

@@diminios A few Leopard 2 A4's, Bofors AT Missiles and shoulder fired recoilless AT rifles? They are passing through a neutral country, and they better behave and pay, or get delayed even more...Maybe they would just take the money off bank accounts belonging to their leaders on austrian banks in exchange...(what could be a greater threat to them;-) )

[@Balthazare69]

@42 Dont forget Luka Doncic

[@lukasbitinas2951]

As a truck driver, this is like a christmas present for me

[@Masada1911]

Merry Christm...wait...uhm....

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

As I guy served as" 1/4 ton reconnaissance vehicle driver " I can relate

[@Raskolnikov70]

As a former Army mechanic, I feel their pain...

[@torstikinnunen3801]

As a former logistics coordinator, I can relate.

[@DavidOfWhitehills]

As a spare part, this is like an antiChristmas present for me.

[@indianajones4321]

Another big logistics and supply line episode could be for the Allied armies after D-Day

[@Masada1911]

What’s D-Day?

[@randomclouds4404]

@@Masada1911 D-Day is just a name for the start of a big operation. Probably some failed landing in France like Gallipoli when Churchill is at the helm.

[@Nebsmailliw]

Agreed. Getting just a box of bullets from Oklahoma to the UK, then across the channel or over to Africa must have been a Herculean task

[@DuLzzPKC]

that is being covered by the channel RealEngineering very good channel and they made a series of it. episode 1 you can find it on youtube but the rest are in a webpage called nebula u have to sign up there.

[@DuLzzPKC]

@Amaze World actually it served a purpose. if the allies havent occupied north africa and then south italy following up with the d day for the soviets it would have been much more difficult to push the germans. had the german army all been focused on the east soviets couldnt have pushed inside germany

[@ASTROPLANET13]

I'm addicted to logistical history the same way Göring was addicted to morphine.

[@carlewen-lewis3305]

Omg, that was good!

[@Raskolnikov70]

"Look at history books the way Goering looked at roast beef" would make a great motivational poster.

[@Bkings7]

I'm just addicted to both

[@rc59191]

Generals win battles logistics win wars.

[@jonbaxter2254]

It is the undersung hero of every war in history

[@oldesertguy9616]

Hearing things like this, it amazes me the audacity of the Germans to think they could pull all of this off. People are always talking about their technical marvels, but they really seem to be just winging it most of the time, and putting glitzy technology ahead of the stuff that supports everything. I can imagine the thoughts of the economic minister when he was basically ignored. Logistics is just as important as tactics in any kind of large operation.

[@mathy1799]

Just look at how the sovjets preformed in Finland. A slight breeze will knock it all over. Don't forget that the mighty german army destroyed the two most powerful Empires in the world in a matter of weeks.

[@eedwardgrey2]

@Paul Muggins Yup the Sun Gun

[@ignacejespers8201]

Wehraboos gonna wehraboo

[@simonh6371]

@@mathy1799 The two most powerful Empires in the world? Defeated? They didn't even defeat the Dutch and French Empires themselves, the Far Eastern territories of those 2 countries were taken by the Japanese...still leaving French and Dutch territories in other parts of the world which were untouched. Presumably you mean the British and French Empires though...however the same happened with the British colonies in the Far East (HK, Malaya/SIngapore) but not British India (current-day Bangladesh, Pakistan & India), Burma was also not taken in it's entirety, and Germany did not even set foot in any British African colony except Egypt.

[@adrickherregodts4194]

"an amateur studies tactics, a professional studies logistics"

[@andmos1001]

“Tactics is how you win battles, logistic is how you win wars”

[@Conn30Mtenor]

The greatest military commanders of all time were logistical champions. Napoleon, Ulysses S. Grant, Julius Caesar, George C. Marshall.

[@Thelionpaladin]

Charles Burnham Arthur Wellsey As well The whole peninsula campaign is him mastering logistics

[@mosesracal6758]

@@Conn30Mtenor Dont forget Alexander the Great, the man stuck to the coastlines so much

[@yourstruly4817]

@@Conn30Mtenor Really? Grant?

[@pinkangel282]

Yea

[@orenashkenazi9813]

You know I'm starting to think this Indy Guy might know more about what's going to happen in the war than he lets on.

[@Arbiter099]

He is getting prophecy from the brilliant generals Luigi Cadorna and Conrad von Hotzendorf via his haunted telephone

[@elonmush4793]

Are we sure Indy is not a spy?

[@cgaccount3669]

It would be funny if Indy really didn't know.

[@WorldWarTwo]

You might think that but we couldn't possibly comment.

[@multiversalman4270]

@Prussian Union I am the phone operator.

[@lyrieladuial4901]

"So they could fill up, at roadside gas stations" IMagine being a frenshman, running one such gas station, you wake up early in the morning, hearing a sound. You stumble outside, wondering what it was and then there are freaking 4 german panzers sucking dry your station.

[@rohitrai6187]

so in that situation, should i give them a discount?

[@FlagAnthem]

@@rohitrai6187 I guess a loaded machine gun would do enough

[@lookythat2]

@@rohitrai6187 No but they do get double Green Stamps.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

If they pay for the fuel they are just customers.

[@stevec7770]

Mon Dieu

[@komm6668]

Operation Barbarossa named after a Holy Roman Emperor who fell off his horse and drowned in a river.

[@giorgosmichael9142]

Nazi Germany drowned in the Vistula-Oder rivers.

[@Collectorfirearms]

Well everyone dies silly. It is just a coincidence.

[@toast2300]

@Mark Gaiennie at least Napoléon made it to Moscow...

[@Collectorfirearms]

@@hazzmati but the Russians burned it so it was a lose for both sides

[@toast2300]

@@hazzmati yah but he still took it so he technically he did more than Hitler in Russia

[@quedtion_marks_kirby_modding]

Germany in ww1: let's not use cars because of a lack of rubber. Germamy in ww2: let's use cars. But we still lack rubber... Germany in ww2: *let's use cars.*

[@moosemaimer]

@@krisfrederick5001 Now we use tanks! But there's no fuel... _T A N K S_

[@Realkeepa-et9vo]

The Germans planned to use cars, trucks and tanks in order to archive a quick victory and avoid a long war that they could not win due to lack of rubber. It was a high risk, high reward strategy that worked in France but failed in the USSR

[@simeoncolby1972]

Realkeepa 1991 you spoiler and how do you the barberossa invasion fails, you’re a psychic huh but also one other question what happens in 2020

[@greyscaleb1537]

@@Realkeepa-et9vo this is why Germany was really thankful when Japan lended imports of rubber through supply submarines, Germany tried to give the IJA a Tiger Tank to study with but the small submarine cargo they had to do piece by piece if i remember correctly

[@airraverstaz]

@@greyscaleb1537 Japan also had a makeshift ME262, forgot the name of it.

[@ilficherrimolori]

Nobody: Some random guy somewhere: "I'm going to send 3 million men, 600'000 horses and tens of thousands of tanks and other vehicles through Slovenia just to prove Indy wrong"

[@Aakkosti]

Stupid military maneuvers near the Isonzo river? Sounds like something a reincarnation of Cadorna would do.

[@Yeeren]

I bet its the Swiss, that's probably what they've been preparing for all this time.

[@oxis77gas]

As a Slovene i cant tell you, that our higways traffic already looks like there is one constant army moving trough the country.

[@kamilkrupinski1793]

@@Aakkosti Freaking 126th battle of Isonzo? What can go wrong.

[@ian_b]

SLOVENIA HAS RAISED A POINT OF ORDER

[@StickWithTrigger]

"I wont let economics get in the way of war goals" I'm sure this strategy will produce good results, certain of it.

[@steved7961]

One of the captured German generals held at Trent Park and who were secretly recorded blamed the failures on the eastern front on the fact that four different companies produced their vehicles none of which had inter-changeable parts whereas the Russians were by then using Studebakers whose parts were usually interchangeable no matter the size of the vehicles involved. The Russians could cannibalise to keep things moving, the Germans couldn't and slowly ground to a halt.

[@creatoruser736]

That thing about Halder not letting "economic considerations influence the operational direction" was a major splitting point between him and Hitler. Hitler wanted to go south to the oil fields to ease the fuel situation, while Halder wanted to win the battle in the field as quickly as possible. That's why he and other generals pushed to take Moscow in the first year, thinking it would end the fighting and the supply situation wouldn't matter as much. Their inability to understand that fighting wouldn't just be over if that happened was a major flaw in that idea.

[@johnburns4017]

The Germans went north instead of south because the roads were better in the north. Simple.

[@elonmush4793]

As Indy brilliantly pointed out in this video there is just no way they could have pulled off that campaign successfully. Even if they had gotten access to the oil fields, they had a rubber shortage, no way of sustaining repairs, no propper infrastructure for the vehicles to drive on in the USSR to begin with, plus the scorched earth strategy. It's just madness! So I guess their best bet was indeed to get Moscow. I would love to hear more about the generals who tried to talk Hitler out of it (if they weren't silenced).

[@johnburns4017]

@@elonmush4793 The south was where the oil, bread basket and resources were, but few roads. Moscow was a political target. Capturing it will not defeat an army in the field. The only army you can defeat in the field will be in the north. North or south, you cannot win if your supply train is not up to it. The British generals in desert and Rommel were all caught out by outrunning the supply train. Montgomery fully understood supply.

[@creatoruser736]

@@elonmush4793 Stop with this "generals knew better but Hitler silenced them" line. That's something they made up after the war to pin all their failures on him rather than admit they were wrong too. Moscow wasn't their "best bet" and generals who pushed for that weren't "silenced." They wanted Moscow because as generals they were trained to win battles in the field on a tactical and operational level. They knew little about strategic goals or resource management. Simply driving to the capital and not capturing needed supplies in the hope that the enemy will just quit is not a strategy.

[@TheLocalLt]

It’s debatable whether getting Moscow would have been a knockout blow, however Stalin was very stubborn and supposedly planned to remain in the city if it was captured and die a hero as his country fended for itself. A lot of this may have been propaganda, Stalin supposedly turned away the last train out from the city, as all further trains were bringing red army troops. Stalin thought that it was very important propaganda for him to be in his bomb shelter with the people, and Stalin even spent a few nights with the people themselves (no doubt more terrified of him than the bombing) down in the subway. Whether Stalin would actually have remained in the Kremlin had the Russians gotten pushed from the city, we will never know

[@dewiz9596]

I love this “present tense” kind of historical presentation. ..

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks! We call it history in realtime!

[@kevins1114]

A friend who currently lives in Russia told me that Germany lost over 100,000 vehicles of all types on the Eastern Front to one single cause - the Russian Spring Thaw. I remember my grandfather telling me about having to abandon his Tiger because it was irretrievably mired in mud in what was once being passed off as a road.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Who knows - one day it might be dug out of the ground and turned into a museum exhibit.

[@SteveASU]

The lighting on the last couple of episodes has been really great!

[@aaronwalters1569]

Well is it the light, or is Indy dying his hair?

[@TimeGhost]

@@aaronwalters1569 Let's just say this much; Indy has not dyed his hair.

[@bozo5632]

Reminds me of colorized B&W footage.

[@rgm96x49]

I'm positive that was sarcasm at 0:37 but really, I now have a logistics fetish and you can bet I'm damn excited for motor vehicles.

[@mihaitamas2060]

Damn right Sakurajima-senpai, logistics is everithing uwu

[@Raskolnikov70]

So glad I'm not the only one :)

[@gianniverschueren870]

I was expecting a special tie, and you guys did not disappoint. 4/5

[@gianniverschueren870]

Tempted to bump this up to a 4.5. I'll open this one up to feedback from the community

[@spartacus-olsson]

Gianni Verschueren we aim to please!

[@gianniverschueren870]

@@spartacus-olsson Your aim was on point!

[@cpt_soban]

@@spartacus-olsson We need to bump it up a knotch- A special suit next time

[@martijn9568]

You forgot how well the lighting fell on the tie

[@j3dwin]

I was a US Infantry officer and had always heard "Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics." I've always wanted to learn more about the logistics behind Barbarossa. Can't wait to hear more.

[@rogerevans9666]

Having been invaded by Napoleon, both Spain and Russia made sure the gauges of their railways were incompatible with those of the rest of Europe. Great show, I have recommended your show to another WWII buff.

[@generalhorse493]

Russia chose it's railway gauge simply because it was one of several gauges that countries were choosing for their railroads (The Russian gauge was in widespread use in the pre-civil war US south) The difficulty of differing gauges cut both ways as well when Russia tried and failed to invade Germany in 1914, and 1941 the wider gauge was only the tip of the iceberg of issues the Germans faced trying to make Soviet railways work with German supply trains.

[@toddmoss1689]

Halder’s determination to not allow economic considerations influence operations speaks volumes in explaining the German’s single minded focus on Moskow, which the Russians were fully prepared to vacate, as they had done in 1812. Oil supplies should have been the target for 1941.

[@markhodge7]

“The line between disorder and order lies in logistics…” - Sun Tzu

[@binaway]

The tracks on tanks wear out quickly and they require constant maintenance. Loading them up with stores and towing a heavily loaded trailer will make things worse.

[@thorin1045]

2000 type of vehicles, in a war, where the total number was below a million (way below), so on average, each vehicle has only 500 piece. That is a logistic nightmare, it is even a miracle they managed to do what they did with this supply system.

[@anthonybatulis6516]

The Germans assumed the campaign would be over in months. Most people like me think all you have to do is get your Army together and attack. The logistics of an attack like this is totally mind-boggling. Thank you I actually learned something today.

[@herrakaarme]

For the Germans, the war had gained a life of its own, it had become an unstoppable train that just kept going, no matter how futile some of the smarter minds among the German generals knew it all to be. This is what the economic analysis of the Third Reich said on the channel some time ago. It must have been quite horrible for those smarter generals to know the outcome from the beginning, yet still have no choice but to proceed.

[@TheIfifi]

"Grow up it'll take you 40 seconds to learn how to convert them." It's true, but man... That hurts..

[@Raskolnikov70]

Indy anticipating the butt-hurt in the comments section like an absolute boss.

[@alphamikeomega5728]

*laughs in British*

[@le_travie7724]

Laughs in metric

[@nesa1126]

naah, use metric like a man

[@24680kong]

It's always sad to see the state of education of metric-taught peoples unable to convert anything unless it involves just moving the decimal position. Managing workdays with time units must be horrible, with all the 60s and 24s and such. (This is clearly trolling, I love using metric. But all the folks constantly asking for metric units, you had it coming.)

[@j.m.f5451]

11:36 These are great clips. It's mind boggling to think about just driving along or standing on the sidewalk as German tanks go by to fuel up at the nearest gas station.

[@bobsmoth-iv3sp]

Did they get Slush Puppy or a Slurpy to ?

[@letoubib21]

@@bobsmoth-iv3sp They got what they were used to:_*FANTA*_ to go. . . *;-)*

[@kittenmittenkitten]

In some ways this is the most important video on the channel, if you think about it!

[@elonmush4793]

This and the ones where he explained how Blitzkrieg strategy made the Nazis so succesful on the battlefield in the first place.

[@Coondawgwoopwoop]

"Yes, I'm mixing miles and kilometers. It will take you 40 seconds to learn how to convert them. Grow up." - Andy The best thing you've ever said...

[@SNOUPS4]

Or the worst: it's actually rather rude.

[@Coondawgwoopwoop]

@@SNOUPS4 grow up

[@richardsawyer5428]

Something that us Brits do all the time😊 Maps are in kilometres, roads are in miles and It's all fine. I've still no idea what a Fahrenheit is though.

[@spagoz2136]

My late father-in-law was a feldwebel infantry man in the German army & took part in Operation Barbarossa. When he was in a talkative mood he would relate certain events that occurred during his march towards Leningrad and in particular the fact that he and his men virtually walked all the way through Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia because of the lack of motorized transport. As he had grown up on a farm & could ride horses he occasionally had the task of riding out on reconnaissance patrols to scout out the Russian's presence. He said he was fired on many times but always managed to get away safely. I asked him whether he had seen any German tanks in action but he replied that the only tanks he ever saw where small Russian ones which the anti tank gunners were able to dispose of in short time. This would seem to bear out the fact that the Panzer Divisions were well in advance of the infantry for most of the way to Leningrad. My in-law was in charge of a machine gun section consisting of 3 MG1934 LMG's which could also be used for anti aircraft use if necessary. He may have had the distinction of being one of the first German soldiers to reach the outskirts of Leningrad & told me how he had set up the guns to cover the end terminus of the tram system leading to that particular suburb, and waited for a tram full of Russian troops to arrive and offload. All that he would comment on that action to me was "Can't you imagine what crossfire from 3 machine guns would do?" Off course the Germans never took Leningrad and a few days after this action my in-law was wounded in the wrist & across the stomach by a bullet & sent home for medical treatment. He said that by that time he and 2 others were the only original ones left in the platoon, all the remainder having been killed or wounded. He said that everything on the move during that campaign was horse drawn, which of course meant the animals feed had to be included.

[@mrb3nz]

anyone else hearing the "low supply" alert from HoI4?

[@CrimsonTide001]

Ahh the fun of HOI4 logistics. 10/10 infrastructure at my back, step 1 foot into the next province. Out of supply!!! Tanks are magically detonating, equipment losses so high 50+ factories can't keep up, and yet I have no way to build infrastructure until we take the next province...

[@6412mars]

As a history buff since age 9 ..im still learning at 59..this series is very well done and i look forward to each week..thanks guys

[@WorldWarTwo]

You are very welcome. And thanks to you for watching us.

[@oldbaldfatman2766]

June 12, 2020----Got into modeling 40 some years ago and was shocked in how unprepared Germany actually was transportation wise. Thing is, the same could be said of the Japanese and Italians.

[@robertsever7900]

“Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics” -Von Clausewitz

[@professorsogol5824]

Can you cite a source for this quote? The closest von Clausewitz quote (translated into English) that I could find is "There is nothing more common than to find considerations of supply affecting the strategic lines of a campaign and a war." As far as I am able to determine, this quote should be attributed to Gen. Robert H. Barrow, USMC

[@nateweter4012]

This highlights the enormous value that Lend Lease assets had in the opening stages of the war on the Eastern Front. We always want to talk tanks, guns and planes, but to understand the Eastern Front, we need to have a very solid grasp on motorized transport. Transport trucks, tractors, prime movers, utility vehicles and troop transports are absolutely essential and any Soviet machine with wheels and an engine that wasn’t smoldering ash was absorbed the second it was captured in Barbarossa. Now we see why. They’re up there with gasoline, ammunition, food and armor. That rail gauge and sabotage point will become...more than a just a small problem I predict.

[@Troynl66]

he said "i do not know"so many times, that something tells me that he does know

[@alexamerling79]

I find it interesting that the myth of the highly mechanized Wehrmacht persists in the public mind to this day. Only about 10% of the Heer was fully motorized.

[@citizenofvenus]

@@RonaldReaganRocks1 Pretty much the entire American force was fully motorized.

[@joshuaevans4301]

I've seen some interviews with (spoilers) American and British troops on the Western Front that were _shocked_ by the number of dead horses lying around

[@Aakkosti]

I’ve heard an anecdote of a German scout sent to count the horses of the D-Day landings to estimate the amount of forces the Americans were going to land. The guy realized Germany had lost the war when he counted zero horses but saw countless trucks.

[@Betrix5060]

@@RonaldReaganRocks1 The US had the first, and for pretty much all of WW2 only, fully mechanized army. The Brits come in at a distant second, and much of that is due to the US picking up the slack and then some. The fact that the US had the highest civilian motorization ratio in the world by a significant margin didn't hurt, especially when you take into account their larger population. IIRC France and Britain were 4:1, with Germany 20:1, meanwhile for every two Americans there was a car.

[@xJavelin1]

The US Army was pretty much 100% mechanised, and the British Army wasn't far behind. In practise that meant that once the allied armies broke out of the Normandy bridgehead and onto the open plains it was game over for the Germans. It just didn't matter how good their divisions were or how many of them they had - the allies could literally run rings around them with their superior speed and maneuverability. Cut them off, encircle them and they're dead. At that point the Germans could either withdraw to a static defensible position (the Westwall/Hindenburg line) or surrender. Any attempt to stand and fight or engage in a war of maneuver (Blitzkrieg) was doomed. This in part explains why they fortified the Atlantic coastline so much as well. They knew that the key to defeating any invasion was on the beach or counterattack the bridgehead. Because once those forces broke out...game over.

[@Shanghai_cola]

Im studying Logistics at uni (writing bachelor´s in next semester), and Im glad we got some coverage. Word logistics came from ancient Greek and basically encompassed basics of what the definition stands for today. Still very underestimated side of the war that can easily turn the tide of entire war if not taken care of properly.

[@darknight9302]

I love your presentations. Our schools are in need of teachers who have been trained to make subjects interesting.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you!

[@bgdimitrov88]

Great video! I feel like supply and logistics are not talked about enough in general in war documentaries. It would be great if you could have a logistics special every couple of months throughout the eastern Europe campaign to illustrate how the situation changes and how both belligerents deal with the supply and logistics issues.

[@MikeL100]

Who needs the History Channel (whatever history is on it) with a channel like this?

[@TheEdwardrommel]

Your enthusiasm for this subject is absolutely infectious. Kudos to you for making these very informative and entertaining videos!!!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you

[@julianmorrisco]

A triumph, thank you Indy. I know a fair bit about this topic from casual interest in the history over the last few decades, but I learned a lot more today. And... ‘grow up’. Absolutely perfect for our current discourse and social media in general. I’m still smiling when I think of it.

[@corsair3886]

Its amazing at how much the Germans achieved with the resources they had in their 1939-1941 operations. The logistical nightmare of the trucks basically meant they would use them till the truck basically was inoperable and left where it broke in Russia from one of the books I read for Barbarossa.

[@thabomuso6254]

The topic of transports and logistics in war is NOT boring and as always, you guys are doing a great job. I think that I have studied a fair share about military logistics throughout the years and there is still so much to learn, including about logistics on the Eastern Front that I study more than any other topic in military history. In my personal opinion, transport and logistics tells about 50 % of the story of any war that last for more than a day and counting from the Stone Age until today. It is still because of its supposed "dullness", the most understudied aspect of war. Keep up the good work Indy Neidell and all you others!

[@davidschaftenaar6530]

I gotta say it: I am absolutely looking forward to seeing you guys cover the war on the eastern front. All they told me about it in school was three sentences peppered with the words "Stalin", "Moscow" and "Stalingrad"... I've managed to educate myself since then, but the role Russia played in bringing down Nazi-Germany is still largely lost on the general public.

[@nm7358]

The game that represents best how much on a shoestring Axis logistics during Barbarossa were is Decisive Campaigns 3: Barbarossa. Not only for the different gauges of Soviet rails but how Russian terrain and "roads" were rough on Opel trucks and tanks alike.

[@Thermopylae2007]

Who would have thought that all of that documentary footage of the Germans advancing with tanks, trucks and motorcycles was.... propaganda! They were so successful at showcasing their best equipment that most of us took it for granted that the Wehrmacht was fully mechanized.

[@Dilley_G45]

There is lots of footage with horse drawn equipment, including German ww2 newsreel

[@bhangrafan4480]

The German military were great experts in many technical fields and I'm quite sure their logistics people understood the complementary roles of rail and road transport. Rail carries very large tonnages of men, materiel and supplies over long distances of many hundreds of miles efficiently to a specific rail head. Road transport can disperse this cargo efficiently to diverse locations quickly and efficiently over short to medium (quite long) distances. All these forms of transport are dependent on the level of development, state of maintenance, and density of the existing infrastructure; rails, railheads, roads etc. It is not about roads versus rails, it is about optimising logistics by integrating the two correctly.

[@thepsychicspoon5984]

My understanding of everytime Russia gets invaded. It's not so much "Gen. Winter" that always seems to get the credit, that defeats an invading army, but the logistical SNAFU the invaders have to deal with. It was logistics that helped defeat the Teutonic Order. It was logistics that beat King Charles XII of Sweden. It was logistics that beat Napoleon I of France It will be logistics that defeats Hitler's Germany.

[@ArtrexisLives]

I almost expected a collaboration video with Military History Visualized!

[@derrickthewhite1]

As did I. He is the natural choice here, and I think they're even talked about collaborating before.

[@billd.iniowa2263]

And TIK. He has done some very good research on the economic and oil situations in nazi Germany. If you're interested in this sort of thing I heartily suggest watching Tik's videos.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

@@billd.iniowa2263 as apo kos said, he did do some good work, but the absolute bollocks he's peddled in the politics side is the nail in the coffin.

[@richardcutts196]

@@Alex-cw3rz He's doing a great series on the Stalangrad Campaign and no politics in it. As to politics, it is sometimes usefull to have a different POV even if you don't agree with it.

[@thebunkerparodie6368]

the problem is that he can't accept he's wrong on that subject and I think it affect the credibility of all of his older video

[@Lagmaster33]

Germans must've loved organizing all that equipment and maintenance. It's like pastime for them.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

At about 9:16 it looks like a supply depot attached to a railhead in the Army Group South area. German officers and/or NCOs are supervising, while the grunt work of loading is performed by Romanian supply troops.

[@elonmush4793]

@ Umm you know Germans don't have that in their genes, right? You don't just inherit the attention to detail from your mother's side. It's a cultural thing you experience while growing up in that country or maybe from observing your parents. And I'll just ignore how blatantly wrong your last sentence is.

[@Wolfe1966]

@ not to burst your buble, but it was Austria who started the first World War

[@tommyestridge9301]

Yes, but it does no good if the people at the top refuse to listen to the experts.

[@StartledPancake]

Yes, and fortunately they treated logistics like a pastime rather than a profession.

[@Otokichi786]

"German trucks"? Feed it grass/fodder, lead it to water, and add "1 horsepower" units as necessary. "Giddy up, Ursula!"

[@the_clawing_chaos]

Good story; poor logistics was after all one of the key weaknesses of the Germans, and the fact they wouldn't listen to their logisticians is telling to their final defeat.

[@harshbansal7982]

Can you cover basic training during the Second World War ?

[@spqr1945]

In Soviet army it was really basic - just 2 weeks to learn how to shoot and throw a grenade? No tactics and no learning. At the same time infantry men usually were on a frontline for a few days - then usually wounded or killed, so it was pretty much pointless to teach them a lot of stuff.

[@rinyc9100]

@@spqr1945 yet this is true but also very sad

[@spqr1945]

@ germans had very tough training, so tough that had certain percentage of deaths during a training. But with high losses on the Eastern front they made training shorter and shorter, so newly arrived replacements were trained pretty bad.

[@harshbansal7982]

stan broniszewski it had to be both mentally and physically tougher as because as far as I know boot camp for them was only 7 weeks .

[@harshbansal7982]

@Joakim von Anka still not as much as Vietnam though

[@gerza71]

13:22 Don't worry, I have the gist of it. Couple of years before I was born that Australia converted from imperial to metric and I can mostly understand. A mile is 1.60 Km, hectare is 2.6 acres.

[@SuperLusername]

- "No one is planning on sending 3million men and thousands of panzers into Slovenia" - Rest of EU: "We are not?!" *disappointedly puts Leopard 2 back into garage*

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Future shock - June 22, 2020 - the world holds its breath as the invasion of Slovenia begins.

[@nikolavideomaker]

@@stevekaczynski3793 I hope not, I've been stuck in Slovenia, because of the pandemic. I do not need an army invading as well 🤣

[@AYVYN]

@@nikolavideomakerI wish I was stuck in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Glad you’re out now haha

[@logiconabstractions6596]

13:18 That imperial system burn was nice.

[@ForelliBoy]

"I cannot see the future" honestly all they have to do is kick the door down and the whole purged structure will fall, how hard could it be ;)

[@michaelredick8898]

Frank Zappa Los Angeles CA based bandleader, thought rebel, songwriter, family man, the breath of fresh air to millions of teens throughout the 70s. Known for his quirky musical style and elaborate musical productions, in later years worked producing with orchestras and other non rocknroll roll partners. His eloquent interviews are still with us and the ever relevant advice to not eat yellow snow!

[@TheBradleyClarke]

I love seeing how happy Indy looks; he looks like he's having such a blast making this series

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Try to imagine Hans Moleman presenting the series.

[@HWDragonborn]

Meanwhile, Spartacus looks depressed when making WAH series

[@TheBradleyClarke]

@@HWDragonborn Well I don't blame him, with the subjects he covers, anyone would despair.

[@vexer2942]

Entire books have been written about logistics and supply during Operation Barbarossa. It's amazing that Germany managed to stave off defeat for so long, even after Stalingrad. German and Russian railroads differed in gauge, as the video mentions. However, that obstacle was overcome rather quickly by converting Russian tracks. The real problem with the rail system in the Soviet Union was that it was single track everywhere. Thus bottlenecks of men and materiel sent east by rail were often and serious. Moreover, wounded German soldiers encountered bottlenecks on the way back to Germany. Had the U.S.S.R. had a two-track system, Germany would have been resupplied much more handily.

[@romaniacountryball]

Romania transport vehicles furing Operation Barbarossa: On feet soldiers we don't have vehicules

[@Raskolnikov70]

Lol, the Romainians were like "we don't have roads at home either, don't see what the big deal is..."

[@romaniacountryball]

@@Raskolnikov70 many of romanian peasents don't have money to buy shoes in those times

[@Inoffensive_name]

@@romaniacountryball Why did the Iron Guard support barbarossa then? Surely with their situation being even worse than Germany's, the population couldn't have seen an invasion of ALL OF NORTHERN ASIA as a good thing.

[@dragosstanciu9866]

@@Inoffensive_name The Iron Guard was no longer in control of Romania in June 1941. The dictator Antonescu eliminated the Iron Guard in January 1941. Antonescu wanted to retake the Romanian lands of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina occupied by the USSR in 1940.

[@Inoffensive_name]

@@dragosstanciu9866 OH RIGHT. I forgot about Bessarabia. Why not pull a Finland then, and stop at the reclaimed territory?

[@danielnavarro537]

The Germans planed operation Barbarossa as the same style of the French Campaign during 1940. The problem was distances were very short in the West than the east. Now German supply lines will soon overextended themselves to the limit. To me I think the Germans were good at a tactical level but for logistics it was a nightmare for them.

[@boffo25]

Thanks for mentioning my tiny country. 🇸🇮 More roads than Russian. XD

[@Alex-cw3rz]

Nice country

[@boffo25]

@42 Sniff Sniff

[@maddyg3208]

That's my great-uncle's battalion at 0:51, the 29th Australians, from western Victoria, in the Battle of Amiens in northern France in 1918

[@daxmac3691]

Amateurs study tactics,” goes an old saying, “armchair generals study strategy, but professionals study logistics. Uncle Joe Stalin loved the 400,000 Studebaker trucks sent by FDR.

[@kenoliver8913]

@@narancauk It certainly helped greatly later in the war; eg the crushing victory of Bagration in 1944 depended on them. But in 41 and 42 the Russians really did do it all on their own.

[@heikkisallinen9012]

Those Western supplies did help significantly in turning the tide in the Eastern front, tho. Especially trucks, trains and locomotives.

[@pz3j]

WOW!!! THIS is the most fantastic episode you guys have ever produced! It's so well done, and the information so profound that it is of monumental significance in understanding the German War Machine. This topic has been severely neglected in the histories. Thank you for what you are doing. Mr. Neidell: Great clothes by the way.

[@Southsideindy]

Well, thank you very much right back! Kind words.

[@mraafi863]

The improved lightning, camera position, and of course your new outfit makes the series even more perfect

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks! Sparty and Astrid spent a long time working on it so good to hear peoples appreciation

[@holyfreakinschift5740]

Frank Zappa was a self-taught rock musician who later in life composed modern-day orchestral music. He spent 60's-70's touring and making records playing what was dubbed "comedy music" by some - and some works were hilarious, but almost all thought provoking. I saw him with his band The Mothers of Invention in Houston. I sorely miss Frank and true innovators like him.

[@dongiovanni4331]

You had horses, what were you thinking?

[@yourstruly4817]

That's enough, Webster!

[@toastytoast9800]

They had no fuel or rubber for trucks

[@oldesertguy9616]

Man, that was a great program. It was the only time in my 30 years as a police officer that I got home in time, just to watch it. The few times I wasn't able to, my wife had it recorded for me.

[@lucius1976]

Well, in the beginning of the war all mass armies had lots of horses. Soviet Union still had too in 1945. On the Eastern Front in rainy and snowy conditions trucks were pretty useless anyway because of bad infrastructure (roads were often not paved but just dust roads). And trucks could not be eaten. Never mind the oil supply. Mass motorization was not an option for the German army.

[@RK-gv7rc]

horses need feeding too. and many other things besides

[@quattuorperquattuor1711]

Another great video, many thanks Indy. The 500km limit of the German army was no suprise, except to the politicians and media. The army knew exaclty its limitations. 500km is actually a very good number. The British army reckoned on 250 miles, 400km, and proved itself quite incapable of doing more, driving 1000km to Lüneburg. The US 3rd Army went a good deal further, 1750km, but in relatively mild conditions and with 10x the trucks of a German army.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

SPOILER Patton's Third Army will bog down in wet weather in eastern France in autumn 1944, not helped by fuel shortages.

[@smanchgibley3839]

Bernard and TIK would be proud

[@Alex-cw3rz]

Gurgul

[@user-lq5yx1ke5k]

who's Bernard?

[@Schmidty1]

@@user-lq5yx1ke5k Military History Visualized

[@Raskolnikov70]

TIK's research on the logistics side of things has been amazing. Once you start to realize how much of the military decision-making was due to the German logistics situation, it changes how you look at the whole war.

[@tdzida]

@@Raskolnikov70 too bad TIK has no clue about politics and constantly puts misinformation in his videos about politics of ww2.

[@eetutorri8767]

Well as was mentioned about the dramatic increase in Panzer divisions but I could add what it was about. In short during French campaign Germany had 10 Panzer divisions which each had 2 Panzer regiments which were made of 2 tank battalions. But each tank battalion numbered roughly 80-100 tanks (this could change by unit by unit) so each division would take large chunks of the production alone and 10 divisions was already hard to equip. But Germans had already seen a problem with it and so they had raised alternative divisions called Leichte Division which used only 1 Panzer Regiment (of mostly Panzer Is and IIs) and 2 motorised regiments and were used in Poland. Problem was that leichte divisions were much less effective in combat and used more supplies to achieve objectives similar to those of Panzer Divisions which was seen during Polish campaign. So all leichte divisions were converted to Panzer divisions by French campaign. But when Hitler wanted more Panzer divisions despite lacking tanks for such thing (reports to be damned!) only option was to take existing units and use them to form new divisions around single panzer regiment. Although all Panzer divisions could maintain sizeable number of Panzer IIIs as their main tank (although 3 Panzer divisions would use Czech Panzer 38(t)) no division would be similar in amount or quality of its equipment. Few divisions would see armored transports for its infantry and even fewer being actually overstrenght with 3rd Panzer battalion formed from formely separate units. So essentially Germany doubled the number of its panzer divisions by splitting its tank strenght across multiple units in contrast to what experience would show. But this was necessary step if you try to maintain large distances and advance in more then one place.

[@litfurher4206]

The problem with the German generals is this: they see this war only as a tactical and operational struggle. Generals like Guderian, and Halder don't care for the grand stradegic dimension of the conflict. This has worked pretty well for the Germans thus far in campaings of small distances, I wonder what will happen on the eastern front, with massive distances and fuel supplies running low for the wehrmacht.

[@earlcousins6635]

Really enjoy your style/delivery/format. Informative with a touch of humor/wit.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

[@Decoffeee-ky4ch]

Frank Zappa is one of the greatest musicians/composers of all time!

[@foxforpeace7351]

Thank you, I was hoping someone would answer this question. RIP Mr. Zappa...

[@Robochuck]

I got a chuckle out of Indy asking if it could get more exciting than transport vehicles of world war 2 I'm a dispatcher in a transport company and "careerist" in Transportation and Logistics one of my hobbies/interests is learning about world war 2 When I saw the title, I got super hyped!!!! but I know that my reaction is amplified by my particular situation. the humor was not lost on me.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Good to hear you appreciated this considering its your field. We're glad we could provide :)

[@1QU1CK1]

"I don't know what the hell this logistics is that Marshall is always talking about, but I want some of it." - Admiral King

[@rrobb9853]

Jochen Vollert, in his book 'British Military Trucks in Wehrmacht Service', quotes a figure of 15,000 British trucks and lorries captured by Germany, in France and Belgium, in 1940. Most of these were added to the Wehrmacht inventory in time for Barbarossa. Re. Barbarossa, Vollert reports that by the winter of 1941/2, Germany had lost in Russia 22k motorcycles, 18k cars, and 31k trucks!! British trucks and lorries were valued by the Wehrmacht as they were specifically built for military service, with deep tread military tyres. German trucks were often civilian - spec vehicles painted grey.

[@Raskolnikov70]

From the sheer variety of vehicles they were using, it sounds like the Germans didn't even have an organized purchasing program for vehicles, much less made any attempt to design and build standardized military trucks. The ability of the US to build and ship so many trucks to their allies was probably the biggest advantage any side had during the entire war, and it's totally underrated.

[@xJavelin1]

@@Raskolnikov70 That, plus the fuel needed to run the things

[@scipioafricanus6417]

Which version of Guderian's book are you quoting at 10:30 ? He changed quite a lot of stuff in the book after the war.

[@markfryer9880]

As a Army Reservist I have driven in an Army convoy from Melbourne to Darwin as a part of Exercise Kangaroo '89. Convoy 1 consisted of 60 vehicles, split into packets of 8 vehicles as the first of 2 convoys from my unit. We were just 1 of many different convoys heading to the Northern Territory on staged timings from the coastal cities and towns. At the time this was the largest peace-time exercise Australia had held since the Second World War. Consider the difference between my journey on made roads with regular Service Stations for fuel versus driving on dirt roads carrying your own fuel and possibly having to fight for your life. The entire Northern part of Australia was the Area of Operations and was described in size as being from Madrid in Spain to just outside Moscow. Does this sound familiar? It took my convoy 7 days to reach Darwin, very different from Barbarossa.

[@carlhicksjr8401]

"Amateurs study tactics. Professionals study logistics." I've always said that there are only two branches of military service: Infantry and various flavors of Support. And far and away the MOST important form of Support are those folks what bring the bullets, boots, and beans up and the casualties back. And I say that as a proud cavalryman. You can't win shit if you don't have enough water, you know?

[@erwin669]

@@KnightofAges Shhh, you'll trigger the Soviet fanboys who think that Soviet Union won the war single handedly by throwing men at the Germans

[@carlhicksjr8401]

@@KnightofAges I disagree. Barbarossa *could have* been successful, but several key mistakes by the Germans prevented it. For example the six weeks spent bailing Mussolini's ass out of his Balkan debacle were absolutely vital, not only in time but in wear and tear on the men, vehicles, and fuel supply. The weeks wasted by Army Group Center when the panzers were shifted South was also a major blunder that had absolutely nothing to do with Dodge trucks and Lee tanks.

[@carlhicksjr8401]

@@erwin669 Everybody runs out of people if you keep charging machine guns. By '45 the Soviets were nearing the end of their manpower pool. They were, for example, promoting Mongolians to colonel and that would NEVER have happened in 1939 [other than the odd token promotion for the 'Soviet solidarity' propaganda stunt]. Meanwhile the Germans had completely run out, as had the British. America hadn't, but we were expecting Stalingrad level casualties in Operations Coronet and Downfall, the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands.

[@jakubcesarzdakos5442]

@@KnightofAges well, when Poles were in Moscow Russians wanted their prince to become a Czar so I guess it's like surrendering

[@gunnerjensen5998]

This video needs to be required material before anyone watches the Barbarossa campaign. The lack of motorization and especially fuel made Germany a low stamina fighter. If you could drag out the conflict they'd surely lose and traveling deep into Russia against a determined enemy was obviously bound to take a long long time.

[@AndrewHesterLaugh]

As someone who uses both miles and kilometers, I had to like this after the joke about people needing to grow up on learning to convert them XD

[@nomobobby]

Agreed. I live in the States, I just google if I need to convert. “X mi to km” or vice versa and get my answer in less than 1 second. Modern problems require modern solutions!

[@cliftondean4333]

As a science teacher during my first year (1973) I had to teach my students the metric system. Some of them still couldn't figure out how to move a decimal point, though it's a lot easier than figuring out inches, feet, yards, chains, furlongs, etc. I have little difficulty in converting from one system to the other, but in this USA I'm afraid I am in the minority when it comes to comparing miles/gal. to km/liter. I remember one of the textbook questions I saw was, "When the US goes to the metric system, will the price of gasiline go up or down?" The answer expected, of course, was "down," since the metric units (liters) are smaller than english system (gallons). My answer, though, was (still is, since we haven't officially switched systems) "Up," Obviously. The oil companies will take full advantage of the general ignorance of the comparative volumes and will raise the cost of the equal volumes in order to raise their own profit.

[@beyondrecall9446]

@@nomobobby seriously?you just don't, like, get a broad idea in your head,, like 50m - 80 km or something?

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Mr. Neidell utilizes homour magnificently, He handles his topic with utmost thoroughness and compassion, but manages to add humorous metaphors and/or anecdotes which make those dry facts and numbers understandable and memorable. Use of Slovenian roads and size as comparative point just hammers home how DREADFUL logistical situation Wehrmacht had.

[@chrysafisstamoudis9850]

"Could it get more exciting ... I don't think so". You instantly got my like, subscribe, money, etc etc ;)

[@WorldWarTwo]

Awesome, welcome!

[@manricobianchini5276]

Very grateful for you and your team, Indy. I am a longtime history buff, especially military history. Thank you much!

[@coreystockdale6287]

Remember if your country is going to war standardize every thing, doesn't have to be the best equipment but if it is reliable and replaceable then you can atleast fight for a long time

[@Raskolnikov70]

To use one example - this is why the US Army depended on the M4 Sherman for as long as they did. Even though it was heavily criticized and practically obsolete from the beginning of the US entry into the war, it was a solid and reliable design. It was small & light enough to be shipped overseas in large numbers and US industry could produce thousands of them rapidly. Who was it that said "quantity has a quality all its own"?

[@coreystockdale6287]

@@Raskolnikov70 exactly not the top of the line in technology or performance but much easier to maintain or replace, as well good when supporting infantry and decent to fight other tanks or assault guns at 400-300ish meters.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@Raskolnikov70 I think it was Stalin but he may have been quoting Napoleon.

[@Blazcowitz1943]

@@Raskolnikov70 Calling the Sherman obsolete from the beginning is a bit harsh. It matched the majority of German tanks for most of the war. It was only when they got to Normandy and came up against Tiger and Panthers in larger number than they ever had before that its shortcomings really started to show. Granted that there was a degree of complacency that meant their was no great hurry to upgrade the Sherman even though they had the means to produce the 76mm varients quite early.

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@Blazcowitz1943 I'm not saying it was a bad tank at all, just that by the time the US was entering the war the knowledge and experience of tank designers had advanced due to the real-world testing (aka actual combat taking place overseas) they could draw on. They could have easily designed and produced better tank than the M4 but the logistics argument won out - it was a better use of limited resources and transport capability to keep churning out Shermans. The end result of that decision was more firepower in the field where it was needed.

[@katfrog98]

I've rewatched this several times. It is a journey into the core of the issue. Well done.

[@inspectorfretless]

Answer: Frank Zappa is one of my favorite musicians 🙂

[@russellelie793]

Thank you Indy. I've been watching your show for years. The 'grow up and do the conversion' comment was just absolutely the best

[@katfrog98]

Well said: this is a channel for adults, and beyond the abilities of anyone who can't recon that sixty miles is about a hundred kilometers.

[@Dave_Sisson]

But its frustrating to the rest of the world that only the Americans persist with using an awkward and impractical system that is 2000 years old. Especially when you compare it with the simple and easy system of measurements that every other country uses. As people in my country tend to say, "bloody Septics", which confuses Americans because they don't understand rhyming slang.

[@thebog11]

@@Dave_Sisson I thought the British condescending term du jour was "colonials"

[@Dave_Sisson]

@@thebog11 Ah, but it's the Australians and New Zealanders who use the term Septic Tank to rhyme with Yank, although the descriptor 'Septic' is often changed to Seppo which distances it still further from 'Yank'.

[@thebog11]

@@Dave_Sisson I see, did not know cockney rhyming slang was a thing there

[@troy9477]

62 miles actually🙂. A kilometer is .62 statute miles.

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

This was great. And I think there's still time -- when you cover the operation itself -- to talk about how they had to attack where there were roads as opposed to where they really might have preferred to go. If they HAD prioritized a dash for the oil fields in the Caucasus, there's no way they could have moved all the troops needed on the few poor roads available. A friend once told me Paulus conducted a staff study of an invasion of the USSR and concluded that Germany simply didn't have enough trucks. If you can confirm that you could get some great quotes for next year.

[@WorldWarTwo]

We'll be doing something with Paulus' war games soon!

[@jhonnypeligro1159]

it's a miracle the germans got as far as they did with all these issues.

[@yvindryan681]

Great! Looking forward to the next weeks. It's building up. And by the way: Frank Vincent Zappa was a genius. Still is.

[@Torment87]

I was wondering if you were going to go in depth on the logistical side of this campaign, but as always you guys meet expectations. Also love your references to Stahel. You refer to his perception as pessimistic, but honestly his work has utterly transformed my view on Operation Barbarossa. At first I viewed it (like most people) as an operation which narrowly failed before the gates of Moscow, but Stahel really highlights that Barbarossa was an utterly idiotic undertaking from the beginning as Germany simply did not have the resources (read: oil) to sustain this massive attack for any lengthy period of time (a fact communicated by Germany's supply officers to the OKW and then purposefully ignored!). Something Hitler realized BTW (hence his focus on Southern Russia) but his 'brilliant' Generals (*cough cough* Halder) did not. For anyone interesed in this stuff, I would advise you to look up TIK's channel for really in-depth analyses on Germany's logistical problems (though I would advise against watching his stuff on political theory, which is kinda weird) or PotentialHistory, who makes shorter, more high-level video's with a more light-hearted approach. And Indy, if you guys ever do make a video specifically about Halder, please do him (in)justice for all the scheming and conniving he did whilst he was in a position of power. An absolute SOB.

[@userequaltoNull]

Honestly, I'd say that TIK's political stuff is pretty decent (though I go to other chanels for politic lol), but it's the economic side that I'd call "weird". It's "weird" not "bad" because I can see some logic to many of the problems he brings up (like the Economic Calculation Problem's effects on logistics), but I don't understand the conclusions (or, more often, the lack thereof).